FLINT, MI – In a unanimous vote, the state oversight board has returned power to Flint’s mayor.

The governor-appointed Receivership Transition Advisory Board is voted 5-0 during a Friday, Jan. 22, special meeting to return some powers, including appointment authority, to the mayor.

“I’m pleased about it,” Weaver said after the vote. “It’s another good day to help bring Flint back.”

A proposed resolution would authorize the mayor to appoint a city administrator and the head of each executive department of the city government. The appointees would serve at the pleasure of the mayor.

Positions impacted by the change could include police and fire chiefs, finance and public works directors, city attorney, chief personnel officer and planning and development director.

Weaver declined to comment on any potential changes to staffing at the city.

The board has served as a state-appointed overseer of the city since the city’s last emergency manager, Jerry Ambrose, was removed in April 2015. Current City Administrator Natasha Henderson, who was appointed by Ambrose, was initially given appointment powers following the emergency manager’s departure.

The approved proposal requires Weaver to submit, in writing, the minimum qualifications the mayor would use to select a new appointment and the salary range for the position. The state’s oversite board will have to approve the submission prior to the appointment.

Prior to the vote, Weaver, who is stuck in Washington, D.C., because of a snow storm, addressed the board via cellphone. She thanked the board for holding the special meeting, but said efforts to move the city forward need to continue.

“We have a lot of work yet to do,” Weaver told the board.

City council President Kerry Nelson called on the board to reinstate the council’s power to serve as a check on the mayor. Councilwoman Monica Galloway told the oversight board that it has to hold the mayor accountable for decisions, and ensure the city’s leadership doesn’t work like prior administrations that left the city in financial trouble.

Galloway also told Weaver to look at the leadership already in place at the city.

“You don’t always need to reappoint somebody,” Galloway said.

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